Spring bed-bottom.



No. 788,224 *PATENTED APR. 25, 1905. F. s. SPRAGUE.

' SPRING BED BOTTOM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16, 1904.

NITED STATES Patented April 95, 1905.

FRANKLIN S. SPRAGUE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPRING BED-BOTTOM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 788,224, dated April 25, 1905.

Application filed November 16, 1904. Serial No. 232,958.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN S. SPRAGUE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Spring Bed-Bottoms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of spring bed-bottoms in which the bed-bottom is made in two parts or sections one slidingunder the other, whereby when the bed-bottom is extended horizontally it is adapted for use as a double bed and when it is not extended it is adapted for use as a single bed or couch, the class of invention to which this device belongs being often termed couch-beds or couch bed-bottoms; and the invention relates particularly to that class of horizontally-extensible spring bed-bottoms or bedsteads which are constructed of metal.

The particular object of this invention is to provide means whereby when the bed-bottom is extended for use as a double bed or bed wider than a couch the adjacent or inner edges of the two parts or sections will be on the same level, so that there will be no drop from one section to the other and the mattress will be smooth and level.

The nature of the invention is fully described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is an end View of a spring bedbottom embodying my improvement extended. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one end of the bed-bottom in an extended position. Fig. 3 is an end View with the parts in position for use as a single bed or couch, the sliding section being under the stationary section. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail in elevation, illustrating my improvement when the bed is closed as in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail in plan, a portion being broken out to illustrate my invention, the bed being extended. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail on line 6 6, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre sponding parts.

a (4 represent the end rails (either at the head or foot of the bedstead) of the sliding section of the bed-bottom, and 7) b the end rails of the stationary section. (Z and e represent pairs of rods or braces, preferably curved downward centrally and connecting, respectively, the end rails and the end rails b. The two frames or bed-bottoms, consisting of the end rails a and Z) and the connecting-rods (Z and a, support suitable springs f. g represents the headboard or footboard of the stationary section containing the parts 6 a. The

1, 2, and 5 the end rails a, with their connect-' ing-springs, slide from under the end rails b of the other section. Hence the end rails of the sliding section are a little lower than those of the stationary section. When the bed is extended, therefore, the inner edge of the sliding section, which was the lower one when the bed was closed, is a little lower than the adjacent or inner edge of the stationary section. Thus when the bed is extended there is a drop under the middle of the mattress for the entire length of the bed. In order to remedy this difficulty and make the adjacent or inner edges of the two sections level when the bed is extended, 1 have provided means at opposite ends of the bed for lifting the lower or sliding section when it has been extended sufficiently clear-of the other section to the level of the stationary section. The inner ends of the horizontal portions of the angle-shaped end rails a are cut away at h, and the inner ends of the vertical portions of the angle-shaped end rails b are cut away at in. A bent plate has its portion m bolted or otherwise secured at Z to the inner surface of the vertical portion of the end rail a, and the portion a of said plate 1s bent at right angles outward around the inner end of the end rail (6,

as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, and said portion has its under end notched at p, as indicated in. Fig. 6. Thus the portion 12. extends outward over the bar 0 of the stationary section. Pivoted at t to the outer side of this barc is the lower end of the-swinging supporting bar or dog 8, whose upper end is notched at o. This swinging bar or dog is pivoted at such a point that when the bed is extended the inner edge of the sliding section is a little beyond said pivotal point.

In practice when the bed is in the position indicated in Fig. 3 the dog lies facing the outer edge of the stationary section and rests on a pin 1 which extends outward from the bar 0. As the sliding section is drawn out the notched portion a of the bar m a engages the notch in the outer end of the dog and swings said dog up until its outer end is beyond its pivotal point into the position indicated in Fig. 1, the dog being made of suitable length to lift the edge of the sliding section to the exact level of the stationary section. When the bed is closed, the bar on a swings the dog over, and it drops onto the pin y. The cut-away portion or recess 7b is for the purpose of allowing the end rail (6 to avoid the inner end of the end rail 6 as the former is lifted by the dog, and the cut-away portion or recess k of the end rail 6 is for the purpose of accommodating the bent bar m a. The above-described mechanism is applied to both ends of the bed-bottom in exactly the same manner.

It is evident that the swinging of the lifting-dog beyond its pivotal point as the bed is extended enables the sliding section to remain in an extended position without danger of its being unintentionally slid back under the stationary section.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a bed-bottom of the character described, the lifting-dog s pivotally secured at its lower end to the stationary section of the bed-bottom; and a bar extending substantially horizontally from the sliding section, and adapted to engage the outer end of the liftingdog as the bed is extended, and swing it upward beyond its pivotal point, thereby raissaid bar as the sliding section is drawn out,

thereby engaging said bar and lifting the inner end of the sliding section.

3. In a bed-bottom of the character described, the bent bar m, at extending substantially horizontally from the end rail of one of the sliding sections, the portion 11 of said bar being notched on its under side; the liftingdog pivotally secured at one end to a bar on the stationary portion of the bed-bottom and formed at the outer end with a notch '11; and means for supporting said dog normally in an inclined and outwardly pointing position, whereby as the sliding section is drawn out from under the stationary section, the notched portion n. of the bar engages with the notched end of the lifting-dog and swings said dog upward and beyond its pivotal point, thereby lifting the inner edge of the sliding section.

4. In a bed-bottom of the character described, the angle-shaped end bar a of the sliding section of the bed-bottom, provided on its horizontal portion next the inner edge of the sliding section with the recess /L,' the bar m, at extending outward from the inner end of said end rail; the angle-shaped end rail 7) in the stationary portion of the bed -bottom, provided with the recess 1?"; the bar 0 in the stationary portion; the dog s pivoted to the bar 0; and means for holding the free end of the dog in the path of the bar m, w as the sliding portion is moved from under the stationary portion, whereby said bar engages and lifts the dog, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANKLIN S. SPRAGUE.

WVitnesses:

HENRY W. WVILLIAMs, A. K. HooD. 

